


You Take the Cake

by gamerbot22



Series: Flufftober 2019 but it’s 2020 [10]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Also the relationships tags are really more of a formality on Kaia's end?, But they aren't the focus by any means of the word, Cheek Kisses, He doesn't like parties, Kyrie can flirt but can't be flirted with, Like they're with Ilya and Pasha, Love you bro!!!, M/M, So Kyrie is not my apprentice, We're both really into The Arcana and this is the first time I've ever written for it, but sitting with Kyrie with cupcakes is fair game, he's my brother's!, soft muriel, soft stuff, they're both real shy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24097456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamerbot22/pseuds/gamerbot22
Summary: Sometimes a party is just a mountain man, a demon, and a tray of cupcakes.Prompt - Party
Relationships: Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana), Kaia (Original Apprentice)/Julian Devorak, Kaia (Original Apprentice)/Portia Devorak, Kyrie (Original Apprentice)/Muriel (The Arcana)
Series: Flufftober 2019 but it’s 2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608352
Kudos: 3





	You Take the Cake

Kyrie and Kaia had never really celebrated their birthdays before. Even growing up with Asra, their birthdays only ever came with a special reading and a special loaf of pumpkin bread from the marketplace. All of that changed the moment the two got roped up with Countess Nadia. What had started as just another day, turned into a special meal and then into a week long celebration each with live bands, performers in the courtyard, and tables and tables of food and drink.

Kaia, always the crafty one, took to the parties rather quickly. They fully embraced the noise and the food and drink, spending every moment of the week arm-in-arm with the royal doctor, Julian Devorak, or his younger sister, the Countess's handmaid, Portia. Their faces were tinted red with drunken blushes as they swung about the dance floor, laughing and singing, slipping in and out of tune with the all too accepting band. The three of them weren't particularly great singers, but that didn't seem to stop them from belting out whatever songs came to mind.

Normally, Kyrie would be a part of the loud festivities, waving a half empty bottle of champagne in one hand and holding Julian's arm with the other as he swung him around gracefully. But tonight was different. Tonight's plans involved a plate of cupcakes that had been swiped from the kitchen, the back garden, and the local mountain man, Muriel.

  
“Muriel?” Kyrie called softly into the back garden hedge maze. “Are you here already?” The two had already made an agreement that if the party had become too much for either of them, that they would meet back here.   
  


”I’m at the fountain,” Muriel’s low but gentle voice carried to Kyrie’s pointed ears. The apprentice adjusted the tray of cupcakes that he held in one hand and the bottle of wine that was tucked under the other arm as he followed the all too familiar path right to the center of the maze.

Muriel was sitting on the ground, back against the marble ridge of the fountain as he listened to the rustle of the hedges in the night wind. He was always so at peace here..

”Hey,” Kyrie said softly, not wanting to break Muriel’s concentration too suddenly. “I brought food. Did I keep you waiting too long?”

The large bear of a man opened his emerald green eyes, a shadow of a smile crossing his face as he looked at Kyrie. “It’s alright.” He pulled his heavy fur cloak closer, leaving the space directly to his right open for Kyrie to sit.

Kyrie sat down, legs crossed and the tray of cupcakes perched delicately on one knee and the bottle resting on the grass an arm’s length away. “I didn’t know which one you’d want; these were the closest ones to the kitchen door.”

Muriel inspected the cupcakes for a brief moment before picking up the one that seemed to have the least amount of frosting on it. He’d never been one for sweets, but he didn’t want to turn down something from Kyrie. He took a bite, and then fell silent. “... It smells like a field.”

”What?” Kyrie gently held Muriel’s wrist and brought the cupcake close to his own nose. He inhaled deeply, his nose filling with the smell of fresh golden wheat. “Oh my gods, you’re right. Is it any good?”

Muriel only nodded, taking another bite. The cupcake was so small (or his mouth so big) that the treat was almost completely gone after just the two bites. Kyrie was too busy trying to pick his own cupcake to be impressed, however. His hand hovered over a few different options, before settling on a pink cupcake right in the middle.

”Nadi’s got the beat chefs.” He took a small bite off the top, a little bit of frosting sticking to the tip of his nose as he chewed. Muriel glanced at the pastry, and nodded in agreement. The frosting seemed to sparkle in the low light of the moon above them, and small flecks of edible gold were buried in the cupcake proper.   
  


The two fell silent, the air filling back up with the sound of leaves rustling and the fountain’s water rushing. Muriel wouldn’t mind the silence, but today felt like the one day he should at least make an honest attempt at conversation. 

“Are you.. enjoying the party?”

”Oh, yeah.” Kyrie nodded, covering his mouth as he finished another bite of pink cupcake. “It’s really nice. Not what I’m used to at all.”

”Doesn’t Asra spoil you on your birthday?”

”Not especially?” Kyrie rested his head against the rim of the fountain, some of his sleek blonde hair falling into the water and floating in intricate patterns. “As nice as it is to celebrate, I feel like a week is a bit much...”

Muriel nodded solemnly. “A few years I’ve forgotten my birthday. There’s not a lot to do for it.” He tilted his head back, also resting on the marble as he gazed at the stars above his head. The sky swirled with deep blues and purples, the stars cutting through the darkness with every twinkle, shedding drops of light onto the land below.   
  


His tongue caught in his throat as he turned to look at Kyrie. “I... couldn’t forget today, though.” His voice was gravely and low, but Kyrie caught it perfectly. 

Kyrie closed his yellow eyes and smiled, gently placing his hand over Muriel’s. The difference between the two was staggering. Kyrie’s hands were soft, and almost fragile looking compared to the scars and callouses that adorned Muriel’s knuckles. The apprentice traced his fingertips over each scar, a small flash of memory telling him how Muriel got each one. A few were from housework out in the woods, but most of them came from the Vesuvian coliseum. The Scourge of the South...

Muriel interrupted the train of thought by cautiously taking Kyrie’s hand in his. It felt so delicate that Muriel worried that he’d break it with just the smallest bit of pressure. “You can... come closer. If you want.” The apprentice obliged immediately, setting the tray of cupcakes aside on the grass and shifting closer to the hermit, his spindly body pressed close to Muriel’s broad shoulders.

  
There was something special to Kyrie about this. About Muriel trusting him enough to let him touch him, to hold him, and to love him. Kyrie sighed softly against Muriel’s olive toned skin, a peaceful smile spreading across his lips as his breathing slowed. He was so exhausted from partying that he didn’t even realize that he fell asleep against Muriel’s shoulder.

Muriel’s face turned red as Kyrie snuggled against him, free arm coiled around his muscular upper arm. It was like a trap. A small, warm, handsome trap... Muriel shrugged his cloak over Kyrie, enveloping him in warmth against the slight chill that had grown in the night air.

  
  


His own eyes grew heavy as his heartbeat slowed to match Kyrie’s, and slowly, gently, he rested his chin on the apprentice’s head. The fountain behind them continued to run, slowly lulling the two deeper into sleep as Muriel found himself cradling Kyrie closer to his chest.

His tongue caught in his throat one final time before his eyes shut all the way, and he could have sworn he heard in Kyrie’s clear, sleepy voice.

_”I love you.”_

**Author's Note:**

> SO MY PHONE DIED RIGHT BEFORE I FINISHED THIS THE FIRST TIME so if this is a little disjointed that's why. (totally didn't cry over it or nothing psh that's baby talk)
> 
> Also I finally got a story out on time for once jesus.. The next story is another OCxCanon and if you want to read up on the OC I would recommend going to SpiderTams on instagram and looking at her FMA posts! I love Anika so much and her chemistry with Ed is top tier stuff like seriously it's so good


End file.
